


oh, to have forever (we all have each other)

by sobsicles



Series: Shadow Soulmates [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec and Jace are the best bros, I basically just sum up TID and fix it all in one go, Jace and Raphael love him dearly, Jace and Will are Herondales who hate ducks and they are proud of that, Jace has no idea what rummy is, M/M, Magnus is always the man with all the solutions, Multi, Raphael and Jace are the best and so supportive of their soulmate Simon, Set in the future, Simon is a sad for a very brief time, Simon pls dont call Magnus papi, Some of the original crew are dead because of old age, Soulmate AU, Square: Soulmate AU, Tessa and Will and Jem are in love fight me, but its not the main focus of the fic i promise, i isolated myself to write my faves just...hanging out, in this time of social distancing, its important to have friends yall, let me have this okay, their parabatai bond goes hard, there is also some humor in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:33:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23376193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sobsicles/pseuds/sobsicles
Summary: Jace, Raphael, and a melancholic Simon make their way to London at Magnus Bane's request, to meet another triad who's soulmate story might just be wilder than theirs...A story of happy endings, the importance of remembering, and the relief in family.
Relationships: Jem Carstairs/Tessa Gray/Will Herondale, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago/Jace Wayland
Series: Shadow Soulmates [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1362943
Comments: 14
Kudos: 146
Collections: Hunter's Moon Fic Recs, SHBingo





	oh, to have forever (we all have each other)

**Author's Note:**

> Just a warning, if you have not read The Infernal Devices and don't wish to be spoiled, then run real fast and read the books before coming back 😂 
> 
> This is a continuation of my Soulmate Series, the last being the story of RJS. This is set farther into the future, so some characters that we know and love have passed. This can technically be read on it's own as a stand alone, but the other 2 installments are great, I promise!
> 
> A reminder: Soulmates in this universe who have a special bond take on each other's traits and abilities! 
> 
> This ALSO happens to be a Bingo Square, because I'm versatile like that. Square: Soulmate AU (don't call me out, I know 😂)

"You know, I've never been to London." 

Jace and Raphael share a look over Simon's head before they quietly, in unison, say, "We know." 

Simon falls quiet again. He's been less talkative as of late, which comes to no surprise to anyone. There's always a price to immortality, and Simon is feeling the sharp sting of it now. He's dealt with quite a bit of loss recently--between Clary, his sister, and an unfortunate accident that took his great-nephew far too soon. Maia, as well, has been very sickly recently from grief at the loss of her soulmate--Clary--and she has no qualms about the fact that she's dying, announcing it with a smile, apparently excited to meet Clary again in the next life. 

Simon, of course, isn't taking the death of his best friend very well, and he's preemptively grieving Maia. There's still an innocence to him after all these decades, an innocence that Jace had shed after Izzy and Max's deaths. From then on, he'd accepted the fact that his price for living with love so long is to grieve those he'll leave behind forever, though never in memory. As Clary had assured Simon, those that are gone exist on through them. 

The world will continue to turn, they will not age a day, and centuries will pass...but Jace knows that those they all collectively love live on in their hearts. 

Still, it's hard to care for those who are mortals when it can cut so deeply, so Jace and Raphael had come together to think up an idea. Unsurprisingly, it had been Magnus who came up with the solution, even halfway across the world. He'd called out of the blue, asking them to visit him and Alec in London since it had been so long, and he'd gone on and on about all his wonderful _immortal_ friends here. 

What Simon needs is a select few who are immortal to call friends, that way loss is less likely. 

"You're _sure_ Magnus said to come here?" Simon asks doubtfully, staring up at the shabby door with a small frown, his eyebrows raising. "I don't think I could picture Magnus in a place like this. Or Alec, for that matter. Maybe we mixed up the address, or--" 

"This is the place," Raphael interrupts, sounding absolutely sure. 

Simon blinks over at him. "You've been here before? I mean, I know you've been in London, but I mean _here,_ specifically." 

"I have." Raphael's lips twitch as he looks over the bar that has truly seen better days. "Long ago, this was _the_ place to be for downworlders." 

Jace shifts nervously, glancing down at his runes with a cough. "And I won't be a problem?" 

It wouldn't be the first time that Jace being a Shadowhunter had caused them issues. Seeing as his soulmates are both vampires, they often frequent places that downworlders do, just so they won't get judgemental looks. Back home, the Shadow World had made leaps and bounds in acceptance--mostly due to Magnus and Alec's influence--but some other parts of the world are slow to catch up. 

Jace _still_ remembers starkly how the visit to Peru had gone down. A fight had broken out, and the shock on the faces of the other downworlders as Raphael and Simon had worn runes while flashing fangs will forever live as a pleasant memory in Jace's head. But, now, Jace shares being run out of Peru by downworlders with Magnus, so there's that. 

"No, mi sol," Raphael tells him in amusement, "you most certainly won't. In fact, you're not that special here. As you know, we're not the first case of someone having two soulmates. What you _don't_ know is that you're not the first Shadowhunter to have a downworlder for a soulmate in which you took on their traits. You're not even the second." 

Jace stares at him blankly. "What?" 

"You'll see," Raphael simply says. He glances over at Simon. "Shall we go in?" 

Simon looks over at them with a faint smile. "Sorry I've been so...sad lately. Please don't let me drag you two down, okay?" 

"No, cariño," Raphael murmurs, staring at him intently as his voice softens, "as you mourn, so shall we. Your pain is ours, as our joy is yours. You may feel what you do, but do try and smile with us tonight, yes? It is within your right to." 

Raphael has voiced the perfect words, as he often does, so Jace punctuates the statement with a soft kiss to Simon's cheek to show his agreement. 

Simon's smile turns more genuine. "Aw, you saps." 

Jace and Raphael scoff at the same time, rolling their eyes in unison and making the same exact sound of put-upon disbelief and faux disdain for all things soft and sweet. Simon grins at them. 

"Come on before I finally lose it after all these years and free myself from you two," Jace mutters, shoving past them to head inside. 

He tries to hide his eagerness, but he doubts he does a very good job. It's been so long, too long, since he's seen his parabatai. Being immortal means that seemingly endless time stretches on before you, and sometimes those with no expiration date can get lost amongst it. Soulmates, especially ones that are bound the way they and Magnus and Alec are, don't stray from each other, choosing instead to get lost in the open cavern of time _together._ But over the years, Jace and Alec's journeys have drifted apart, and to no fault of their own. 

Life can get a little...fast, sometimes. Jace will be with Simon and Raphael in California, while Alec will be with Magnus in Ireland. Then Jace will go with his soulmates to China to stay for a while, to learn the language and culture, and Alec will go with his soulmate to traverse the seas as a pirate. And, before they know it, they look up and it's been three years since they last saw each other face-to-face, despite the fact that Alec could make a portal or Jace could pay a Warlock to make him one. 

It's not because they don't desperately love each other. They've spent just as many years living in the same house, everyone travelling together. They're parabatai, so whether they're in the same room or across the planet from each other, they always have each other beside them. It's just that things are somehow busy and leisurely all at once, and time passes while they have so much before them, and then they're left with a deep ache as they miss each other after carelessly not meeting for some time. 

So, yes, Jace is eager. _Sue him._ He hasn't seen his parabatai in nearly four years, and that isn't the longest they've gone, but it eats at him all the same. 

Despite the outside of the rickety bar, the inside is bustling with people--fair folk, werewolves, and vampires alike. It's most certainly a downworlder bar, but Jace doesn't feel an ounce of worry for two very important reasons. One, Raphael had assured him that this will be fine, and he trusts Raphael. Two, his parabatai rune is _singing_ with pleasure because he's currently in the same room with Alec. 

If only he could _find_ him among all these--ah! 

A head taller than the rest suddenly pops up from a table in the corner where five people seem to be playing cards, and Jace's entire face lights up as Alec whips around to glance towards the door, no doubt feeling his parabatai's presence. 

This gets a laugh out of Magnus, Raphael, and Simon every time. They all joke that Alec and Jace reunite like those cheesy lovers from movies, complete with running across whatever space is between them and barreling into each other. Jace would be more offended if it wasn't actually true. 

A few downworlders grumble and curse sharply when Jace full on _darts_ across the bar, using vampire speed that he's only earned through the love of his soulmates. He can hear Magnus chuckling at the table, while Simon and Raphael follow with snorts of amusement as Jace and Alec collide together. 

Jace is, as always, giddy with excitement to have his parabatai in his arms once again. Their bond relaxes and threads thicker, something smoothing over in their shared soul as they laugh and cling to each other. The grip of his fingers is too tight, and Alec's hands are sparking with magic in delight, but neither of them care too much. 

"Alec!" Jace yells excitedly, breathlessly, beaming as he yanks back and holds Alec's face between his hands. He's smiling so hard his cheeks hurt. 

"Jace," Alec replies with a broad smile, gripping his shoulders and shaking him slightly. "Look at you, you asshole. I thought you'd never show up!" 

Jace waggles his eyebrows before jerking forward to knock his forehead against Alec's lightly in greeting, pleased and settled. "Eager? All these years and you still can't get enough of my face." 

"Oh, shut up," Alec says with a laugh, shoving Jace's face away and rolling his eyes. 

"Raphael!" Magnus suddenly chirps, hopping to his feet and heading over to Raphael with his arms open wide, laughter dancing in his eyes. 

Raphael, with dignity, holds up his hand and says, "No. We never have greeted each other in such a way, and I assure you, we never will." 

Magnus clicks his tongue. "Ah, don't be like that, hijo. Why does Alec get such a good reception?" 

"Because Jace is far more sentimental than I, and do not pretend you're searching for a hug for any other reason than to annoy me," Raphael says flatly. 

Still clutching at Alec, Jace fumbles to shoot his soulmate, one of the loves of his life, the middle finger. Alec snorts. 

"Such is my language of love. How else would you know I care for you so if not by my habit to irritate you?" Magnus asks, reaching out casually to squeeze Raphael's arm with a smile. Sincerity softens his face then. "It is good to see you." 

"Well, if _he_ won't hug you," Simon declares, hip-checking Raphael out of the way with his arms thrown wide open, "I definitely will. Show me the love, bring it in, papi!" 

"Simon, I've told you before, and I will only warn you once more before I reduce you to a flea to reside in Jace's hair, _stop calling me that."_ Magnus arches an eyebrow at Simon, even if he still looks amused. When Simon nods frantically, he smiles more tolerantly and steps forward to give Simon a quick hug. "How are you liking London so far? It's your first time, right?" 

Simon chuckles as he pulls back. "It's...wet." 

"Yeah, that's the general consensus, even throughout the centuries," a voice from the table calls out, a man with black hair and bright blue eyes standing as he shimmies forward to offer his hand to Jace. "I'm Will. Will Herondale." 

Jace drops his arms from Alec and does a double-take, his eyes widening. "You're shitting me," he blurts out. "You're a Herondale, too?" 

"I'm an ancestor of yours, I take it?" Will looks amused and practically gleeful as Jace shakes his hand, his blue eyes brightening. "Tell me, how do you feel about ducks?" 

"Hate them," Jace rattles off. 

Will grins over his shoulder at the two others sitting at the table. "Yeah, he's a Herondale." 

The woman at the table with grey eyes and long brown hair in a braid, her face classically beautiful, rolls her eyes. "Yes, because that solidifies it. Not that there's a birthmark all Herondales have, not at all. Your wit and sleuthing skills are unparalleled, love. Tell him, Jem." 

"Tessa is correct," Jem, a man with silver eyes, light scars on his face, and brown hair, says calmly. His eyes that gimmer with humor give away his act, though. "Unparalleled, truly, Will. Superlative, really." 

"I, uh, also have that weird birthmark," Jace says awkwardly. He flicks his gaze between Tessa and Jem. "You're not ancestors of mine too, are you?" 

Jem shakes his head. "Not me, certainly. You have no relation to any Carstairs, do you?" 

"Not that I know of," Jace admits. He glances over at Tessa. "What about you?" 

Tessa tilts her head. "You know, it's so very hard to keep up with after all these centuries. Anyhow, if you're related to Will, you're related to us by proxy." 

"Come on, everyone sit down," Magnus says, gesturing to the table, making the full introductions.

Alec waves his hand, magic dancing in his palm as he casually--almost as an afterthought--sends three extra chairs to the table without even looking. Jace arranges himself in between Raphael and Simon, glancing between the trio he doesn't actually know, intrigued despite himself. He's never met another Herondale before, not outside of Imogen. 

"Raphael, yes?" Tessa asks, her voice a gentle curl of british that makes her sound proper to Jace's ears. 

Raphael nods. "Yes. We've met briefly." 

"It's been a long time," Tessa muses, her lips curling up. "You look well, happier. Can I wager a guess that these two lads have something to do with it?" 

"Oh, yes, definitely," Simon says quickly. 

Jace nods solemnly. "Yeah, that was all us." 

"No," Raphael replies flatly. 

"We're his soulmates," Simon tells her, flashing both of his wrists with a proud smile, beaming more than he has in weeks. "It's rare to have two, I know, but--" 

Tessa smacks her hands down on the table, wrists facing up, reading _William Herondale_ on the right and _James Carstairs_ on the left. "Tell me about it," she says with a bright grin. 

"Holy shit, _that's_ what you meant!" Jace shoots Raphael a look before turning toward Will with narrowed eyes. "Could this be, like, a hereditary thing? Having two soulmates, I mean." 

Will shrugs. "Perhaps, young Herandle, perhaps." 

"Young--uh, I'm really not that young," Jace says with a snort. 

Jem leans forward. "Were you born in the 1800s?" 

"Uh...no?" Jace ventures. 

Tessa smiles at him. "Then you're young." 

"Woah, you were born in the 1800s?" Simon's entire face lights up with curiosity. "What was that like? I mean, obviously you're Shadowhunters, but having two soulmates during that era must have been a little, I don't know, taboo. Right?" 

"That, I am not," Tessa answers, her smile growing as she shares a look with her soulmates. "Well, I am, but that is not all I am. I have Shadowhunter blood in me, yes, but I am also a Warlock." 

Jace blinks rapidly. "Impossible." 

"Is anything?" Will challenges, arching an eyebrow. 

Jem looks at Simon with a patient smile. "And to answer your question, you could say that it was very out of the ordinary. Two men in that time, especially among the Shadowhunters--which is what Will and I were--was unacceptable. So, when we met so young and our names appeared on each other's wrists, we allowed ourselves to believe that it was simply a sign to become parabatai." 

"Oh, really?" Alec flicks his fingers, hands sparking green as all the cards on the table gather themselves up and begin shuffling in the air. "I knew the rest, but you didn't mention that." 

"We were young, and Jem was dying," Will says, losing his smile for the very first time. "He was very ill with a demonic disease. I believed myself to be cursed by a demon, thinking that anyone who would dare to love me would die. To be romantically twined together seemed out of the realm of possibility, and as Jem said, it was rather...frowned upon then. So, we became parabatai." 

"Wait, I thought parabatai couldn't, like, be in love or whatever," Simon says with a frown, thoroughly invested in this story. 

Jem dips his head. "Right you are. It is seen as wrong in the eyes of the Clave, even to this day. We never thought to worry about it, as we were young, and I was expected to die before I matured." 

"Needless to say," Will says in amusement, "he didn't, and falling in love was on the long list of things we did wrong--in the eyes of the Clave--through the years." 

Jace snorts. "Join the club, man." 

"Keeping the Herondale spirit alive, I see," Tessa notes, smiling wide like she's actually proud. 

Magnus hums. "You have _no idea."_

"So...what happened?" Simon asks eagerly. 

"Well," Jem says carefully, "Will and I _did_ try to obey the rule, but we loved each other dearly, even then. But we were parabatai, and that was enough for us until I inevitably died." 

"Not so inevitable, in fact," Will chirps happily. 

Jem rolls his eyes. "And then came Tessa." 

"I came from New York," Tessa cuts in, laughing when Jace sits up in surprise. "Yes, I'm no London native. I was a young girl, believing myself to be human, travelling across seas to move in with my brother--or so I believed. To save you _that_ tale, I'll just say that my brother was a liar working for a horrible man, who knew exactly what I was before _I_ did. He had me taken captive, which is where Will found me, and my name showed up on his left wrist, while his showed up on my right." 

Will makes a small sound of amusement and snatches the still-shuffling deck out to the air to start dealing cards. "As you can imagine, I was very shocked to find a seemingly mundane girl's name on my other wrist, and even more so to locate mine on one of hers. I, of course, fell deeply in love with her. She was, in a way, a solution to my problem with Jem, and I believed for some time that he and I truly only had each other's names as a sign to be parabatai." 

"Oh, you and me both," Jace says with a snort, gesturing to Simon with a roll of his eyes. "Simon over here was _actually_ mundane when his name appeared on my wrist, so I was pretty pissed off. Mine never showed up on his until he, uh, died." 

Will hums. "My father had a mundane as a soulmate, you know. He had himself stripped of his runes and left the Shadow World without looking back. Her name disappeared off his wrist, but he knew." 

"So, how did you react when you found out that Jem had Tessa's name?" Simon asks, gathering his cards distractedly, enthralled with the story. 

It's the most animated he's been in a while, and Jace shares a fond smile with Raphael. 

"Well, I didn't know for a long time, admittedly." Will shakes his head with a sigh. "As I mentioned before, I believed myself to be cursed, so I feared that Tessa would die should she love me. I caused her a great deal of confusion, being warm to her one moment and cold the next. The only person I allowed myself to be truly loving towards was Jem, who was already dying as it was. Tessa and I...had strife, but I knew I loved her deeply." 

"Which is where I come in," Magnus interrupts calmly, glancing down at his cards before throwing one out. "Will, who'd I only met a few times before, showed up on the doorstep of where I had been residing. He was hopeless and broken and lost and--" 

"Hey!" Will cuts in sharply. "Shove off, I _wasn't."_

"He was," Magnus insists, lips twitching. "He begged of me to help him locate a demon but would not tell me why. He and I spent a great deal of time together following that, and I came to care for him very much. I wanted to help him, and he was a great distraction from my heartache over Camille, so I worked relentlessly to bring Will his great love." 

"In the meantime," Tessa muses, glancing at the cards stacking up before taking three off the top and laying out a 7, 8, 9 of hearts, "I was spending a lot of time with Jem, who was kind and lovely. His name was on my left wrist, and mine was on his. I knew what it meant, as it had been explained to me, and yet no one who knew of the names--least of all myself--could figure out who, precisely, I was meant to love. The only people to know that I had both of their names was Sophie, a maid at that time, and Charlotte Fairchild." 

At that last name, Simon tenses. 

"They wore dresses back then with long sleeves. The women, I mean," Will says conversationally. "But, even when she didn't, Tessa's ability helped her hide her names, so neither Jem nor I knew of the other's names. And after seeing it just the once on her skin when we first met her, we never saw them again for a very long time, as she hid them all the time." 

"I had fallen in love with Tessa as well," Jem admits softly, his smile fond as he pulls another card and immediately tosses it. "I knew I couldn't have Will, and I loved Tessa as much as I did him. I was dying and could not help but ache for the chance to be deeply in love without restraint before I went." 

"And so," Tessa says quietly, "after we became close and shared moments, Jem admitted his love for me and asked for my hand in marriage." 

Simon lets out a literal gasp. "No!" 

"Oh, this is way too much drama for me," Alec mutters, though he's listening intently as well. 

Raphael hums. "Agreed." 

"She said yes, of course, because who wouldn't want to marry Jem?" Will says, pushing the story along with a broad smile. "It just so happens that, around this time, I found out the demon I believed to have cursed me actually _didn't,_ which meant every moment that I was a right arse was for nothing." 

"And it meant that all those he believed didn't love him actually did," Jem adds. 

_"And_ it meant I could go confess everything to Tessa and admit my love for her." Will grins when Simon visibly winces in sympathy. "Oh, yes, I ran to her with a book we'd bonded over, a love confession inscripted in the front page. My heart was light, I was so very excited, and I rushed to her."

"He confessed." Tessa looks over at Will fondly, love shining in her eyes. "Oh, how I loved him so. And yet, I loved Jem as well, and he was to be my husband. So, I broke both of our hearts by showing Will my wrists and admitting that Jem and I were to be married. It was rather painful for both of us." 

"I was, naturally, oblivious to all of this." Jem shakes his head and smiles as he watches Raphael drop a card with intense focus. "I did not find out until _much_ later about it all. Will never treated me unkindly and seemed to love me even more fiercely than before, though I could feel his heartache through our bond, even if I couldn't fathom the source. I was also getting more ill, and death was imminent." 

"A lot of things happened," Tessa admits, her throat bobbing as her eyes grew distant. "Things that, to this day, I won't dare to repeat. I was never disloyal to Jem, this I will say. Will and I kept our distance until we believed him to be dead." 

"This is true," Jem agrees in faint amusement. "I was dying, and things had taken a turn for the worst for everyone. Tessa had been kidnapped, I was on my deathbed, and Will was torn in half by his love for each of us--aching to stay with me, needing to go to her. I insisted he go and gave him my blessing to love her as I did, as I loved him, and as he loved me." 

"I believed he died while I was away." Will winces and reaches up to rub at his chest. "There is nothing worse than to feel that parabatai bond snap, only heightened by the fact that I was in love with him." 

"I mean, ignoring the being in love part," Alec murmurs, "I get you. Jace died, once. It was a thing. He came back, though, really quickly." 

"But, spoiler alert, you were _not_ dead." Simon grins as he smacks down a Jack, Queen, and King of diamonds, but his glee seems more focused on Jem than anything. "Come on, man, I'm chomping at the bits here for the happy ending." 

"Well, Will and I…" Tessa trails off, her cheeks heating up and turning a pretty pink. "In our defence, we were _grieving,_ and we felt guilty afterwards." 

"It was good, though," Will teases, winking at her. "I mean, tragedy aside, it was genuinely lovely." 

"In the end, they were saved. I had not died and had decided to become a Silent Brother," Jem cuts in with a roll of his eyes. "It didn't stick very long. The other Brothers made the mistake of leaving me alone with both of them for an hour." 

Tessa's cheeks darken even more. "In our defence, we thought we'd never see him again, and Will and I were heartbroken over it." 

"We shagged, all of us, _a lot,"_ Will says bluntly, grinning impishly. "It was quite good, too. And what do you know? Our wrists all started itching like nothing else, a bloody pain in my arse, I tell you. But, hey, Jem got some traits from Tessa, such as her ability to change into someone else." 

"Wait, what?" Jace blurts out. 

Simon's eyes are wide. "You're a _shapeshifter?"_

"Well, yes, I suppose you could call it that," Tessa says in amusement. "I also have magic, but that is my most unique trait." 

"Jem was able to change his very blood and blood vessels into something not diseased. Well, mostly. Enough that he resorted _almost_ to fully normal, as much as one can in his situation," Will says with a lazy flick of his fingers. "And Tessa is a Warlock, so immortality was in the mix as well, and here we are." 

"And I thought _our_ story was complicated," Alec says to Magnus, his lips curling up. 

Jace snorts. _"You?_ My soulmate story has yours beat in the complicated area and you know it." 

"He's right, darling," Magnus agrees. 

"This is a story I would like to hear," Jem says, eyeing Jace seriously. "Also it's your turn." 

Jace, who has no idea what game they're actually playing and isn't willing to admit it, picks up a card from the stack and immediately throws it out. "Well, I guess I should start the story…" 

"This should be good," Raphael mutters. 

Simon nods. "It's always fun, that's true." 

"So," Jace says, "it starts with this girl, Clary Fray…" 

* * *

The night bleeds on this way, the different pairs of soulmates sharing stories and reminiscing on old times, getting to know each other in the process. Simon's smiles grow over the course of each card game--he laughs outright every time Jace loses, which is every time--and he looks happier than he has in quite some time. 

Magnus spins stories and tales, making everyone laugh and grin at his wild past. Will, on more than one occasion, gets up on the table to act out various scenes of his stories, which Simon finds incredibly amusing. Jem and Tessa watch on fondly, Alec just sighs, and Raphael rubs his temple like he has a headache even though he can't actually get one. 

As the night wanes on, a spark enters Simon's gaze that's been lacking since Clary's eyes shut for good. Jace can already tell that this new spark will burn bright--never as bright as the one before the loss of Clary, but bright nonetheless--and his heart soars. He reaches down to grab Raphael's hand, squeezing it to convey just how _thankful_ he is, and Raphael squeezes back. 

Jace turns to Magnus and mouths _thank you_ as Simon rambles excitedly and with no pain about the time he and Clary did karaoke at the Hunter's Moon. Magnus smiles and leans in Alec's side, mouthing back _what else is family for?_

Later, Jace and his two soulmates will return to wherever Alec and Magnus are staying in London. They'll all fall into bed together, exhausted from the high spirits of such a late night, and they'll kiss each other before bed, tangling together in a wrangle of limbs that will leave them all confused the following morning about where one begins and the other ends. But it won't matter because they'll get up to do this all over again, to find their laughter and their joy, to make a life in London for a while with new friends to share their lives with, and Simon's spark will fill Jace and Raphael with warmth throughout. 

But...that's later. For right now, they laugh the night away with new friends, learning the importance of an ever-growing family, basking in yet another turn of the earth that gives them more time together. 

At some point, Simon makes a comment. "You know, I don't think I want to leave London," he muses. 

Jace and Raphael share a look over Simon's head before they smile and, in unison, say, "We know." 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I do so hope you enjoyed it. If you did, don't hesitate to drop off some kudos and leave me a comment; y'all have no idea how much I love them! 
> 
> Ta!
> 
> -SOBS


End file.
